The Blood Moon
by Dolores
Summary: Why is the moon red some nights? Does it have anything to do with werewolves? Warning this fic is pre-Harry and may be considered highly depressingly. Possible Lupin sighting with in.


Disclaimer: I do acknowledge that Harry Potter and all characters from the books belong to one J.K. Rowling as much as it may pain me to admit so. Meanwhile, the plot of this story and all original characters belong to me so please ask before you use them.  
  
The Blood Moon  
  
Muggles know nothing of the blood moon. To them the moon turns reddish- orange for no reason at all. If they remark on it, 'tis only to say how quaint and darling it is.  
  
Even among wizards, few have heard the full story of the blood moon. They know it is related to werewolves, but their understanding of the relationship is a bit foggy. For the most part, they assume that the moon is red with blood because a werewolf has been killed, and the moon is mourning the loss of one of her creatures. Others believe that the red tint is caused when a person dies because of a werewolf.  
  
Both of the tales the wizards tell have hints of truth, but like many common beliefs are two parts false to one part truth. So, today I will tell a story of pain and loss. Be warned, it is a heart-rending tale.  
  
Our story begins with a young man known as Romulus Jordain. He was a slightly serious young man, who loved his family. At times he grew angry with them, and said things he didn't mean, but for the most part he was patient with his younger brothers and sisters.  
  
Emily was the closest to his age. In fact she was his Irish twin. His mother often said that they balanced each other out. He was quiet, while she was loud. He tried to behave, while she acted however she wanted. Despite, or perhaps because of this they were incredibly close.  
  
Emmie, as Rommy called her, was always thinking up new games for the whole family to play. She had the best ideas. For instance, when they were really little she came up with the idea to play Ship. It was like House and Doctor and every other make believe game rolled into one. They lived on a ship and doctored animals, and humans, steered the boat, survived tropical storms, routed evil pirates and fought Dark Wizards off. When finished with that, they could  
  
always fall back on treasure hunting under the sea.  
  
Emmie's brilliant ideas made her the leader, but she wasn't perfect. For instance, Emmie was deathly afraid of dogs. Small or big, it didn't matter.  
  
They all scared her equally. This was Rommy's forte. He protected Emmie from dogs and everything else. He had monster search detail, and would stay until all of them had vanished. No matter what, Rommy always did his best to protect Emmie.  
  
The next set of siblings were the triplets, Ryan, Wesley and Sarah. The triplets were A-1 pranksters, especially Sarah, who was determined to out do her brothers. Ryan took second-in-command and did the most intricate parts of the planning, leaving the overall construction to Sarah. Wesley mostly played pranks because his brother and sister did. His secret interest was nature, and he was always asking Romulus questions about why things were the way they were.  
  
The baby of the family was undisputedly Joan. She had the sweetest little blonde curls, and the most bewitching dark blue eyes. It was a miracle that she ever learned to walk because everyone loved to carry her.  
  
Now, as I said, Emmie had a grand imagination, and she was brilliant at coming up with inventive ideas for games that everyone could play. It was about October when she came up with a new idea.  
  
"Rommy! Ryan! Sarah! Wesley!" she shouted. "Come here! HURRY!"  
  
Quickly they came, knowing that if they didn't come quick enough, Emmie would fall into a temper and refuse to tell them of her idea.  
  
"'Tis it Emmie?" asked Ryan.  
  
"'Tis it another play for us? I do love new games," sighed Sarah wistfully.  
  
Emmie glowed, "'Tis. And 'tis my best one yet!"  
  
"Better than Ship?" asked Sarah, thinking of how she loved the treasure hunts.  
  
"Much," she said.  
  
"Better than playing at Hogwarts?" questioned Romulus.  
  
"Much, so listen up you guys."  
  
"Good," whispered Ryan, "I didn't like that one. I had to play Professor Binns and everyone fell asleep during my lecture."  
  
"Shhh," hissed Sarah. "She's 'splaining the game!"  
  
"So, do you got it?" questioned Emmie, having spent the past ten minutes describing the nuances of the game which she imaginatively called Aurors. The goal was to find the 'monsters' before they found the 'aurors'. It was a little bit like tag, but with ten times the rules and therefore in Emmie's mind ten times the fun. **You should mention that she completely explained the game and try to infer the passing of time - there doesn't seem to be enough time passed for her to have done so.**  
  
"N-----," started Ryan, stopping as Sarah elbowed him. "I mean, yes."  
  
"Last one to the Hideout is a rotten egg," yelled Rommy as he and Emmie raced off.  
  
"Why'd ya do that for?" Ryan questioned Sarah.  
  
"You know Emmie will stop playing if we don't listen. I'll tell you what she said on the way." Sarah smirked, "Anyway, I've got a great idea for the best prank ever."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Let's just say it involves these babies," she said, as she held up a long string of Filibuster's Original Fire Crackers.  
  
Ryan's face lit up. "Where did you get those? You know Mom and Dad don't like us using magic in pranks."  
  
"Let's just say I have some connections. Come on, or we'll miss our chance."  
  
They turned and started to run to catch up with Rommy and Sarah.  
  
Ryan stopped mid-stride and called back to his brother, "Wes, are you coming?"  
  
"Nah, I want to find a monarch caterpillar for my collection. Tell me how it turns out."  
  
"'Kay," replied Ryan, as he hurried along his way.  
  
While Ryan and Sarah attempted to catch up to Romulus and Emily, our hero and his sister were almost to their camp. Imagine their surprise when their secret place was found mutilated.  
  
Their tent was torn up, their secret treasures thrown to the four winds. There were claw marks all over everything.  
  
"Did you???" she trailed off.  
  
"No. You?"  
  
"I didn't do it!" she proclaimed, indignant at the thought.  
  
"The triplets then?" he asked.  
  
"But they're not malicious. Besides, this was their special place too!" Emmie paused, "Did you hear that?"  
  
"What?" asked Rommy.  
  
A growl could be heard.  
  
"Oh, that."  
  
Emmie was shaking in terror. It was a dog, she knew it was a dog. It had to be a big, scary dog that couldn't wait to bite her. She whimpered.  
  
Rommy knelt down, "Here, step on my knee and climb up the tree."  
  
Emmie began to do as he said. The creature continued to get closer.  
  
"Hurry!"  
  
When she was in the tree Romulus began to make loud noises and thrash around.  
  
"Stop it Romulus!" shouted Emmie.  
  
"I've ... got to ... to get its attention. Then I can ... run home to mum and dad, and they'll stop it."  
  
All of a sudden something burst into the clearing. Contrary to Emmie's thoughts it was not a dog. It was a huge menacing wolf. In her tree, Emmie went to scream, but she was so scared no sound could come out.  
  
Romulus picked up a stick and threw it at the wolf. The wolf looked at him and snarled. Rommy shouted back at it. Then he turned and ran as fast as he could, darting in and out of the trees. He was trying to evade the wolf without losing it, afraid that if the wolf didn't chase him, it would return to get Emmie.  
  
He stumbled, but pulled himself up. Romulus knew that he could make it if he finished a series of turns to make the wolf forget how to get back to Emmie. Then all he'd have to do was jump in the lake and swim to safety.  
  
He was almost free when he tripped again. He tried to get up, but couldn't. The wolf had a hold on his leg.  
  
Romulus struggled, but the wolf was too strong. It pinned him down, and bit him hard on the shoulder. The pain of the bite was worse than any other pain Romulus had ever experienced. It was every cut and injury. It was the stares and taunts of cruel children. It was mental, physical, and something that transcended both.  
  
He wanted to die. He was sure anything would be better than the pain.  
  
He began to see a light and tried to head for it. The next thing he noticed was the noise of fire crackers. After that Romulus blacked out.  
  
"Sarah, the fireworks didn't work right. They hit Emmie."  
  
"Where is Emmie?"  
  
"Right there," Ryan pointed.  
  
"That's not Emmie," said Sarah as the fog cleared, "that's a ..." she trailed off.  
  
"A wolf," Ryan completed her thought.  
  
The wolf began to change. It's hair grew and receded. It's tail disappeared and it's features changed until it became human.  
  
"A werewolf!" cried Sarah.  
  
"We'd better get Mum and Dad quick."  
  
They got their parents who rushed Romulus to a hospital.  
  
He survived. Barely, but he was alive. When he woke up, his parents were gone. They had left him because they couldn't cope with having and werewolf for a son and they were afraid he might harm his siblings. Romulus thought they had made the right decision.  
  
A nurse told Romulus that he would be moving in with an eccentric cousin and everyone else would be told that he died in the attack. He was also told that his parents expected him to change his name, so that if he ever got into the news his siblings wouldn't know it was him. He chose the name Remus for the fallen brother and Lupin for the wolf that had stolen his life. He kept Jordain as a middle name to remind him of all he had lost.  
  
His parents went home to break the news to his brothers and sisters and to prepare for the mock funeral.  
  
All of them had different reactions to the news of Romulus' death. Sarah and Ryan blamed themselves, sure that it was their fireworks that had killed him, not the werewolf. They quit pranking, and became the most serious kids on the block. Wesley stopped speaking and spent all his time studying the nature that he and his brother had once explored together. Emily cried for weeks. She, too, blamed herself for Rommy's death. She no longer told stories, and refused to answer to the name Emmie. Eventually she became a werewolf hunter. Joan never really knew her brother. She never knew how much she lost.  
  
That night when the full moon rose, it was deep red. Red for the blood shed. Red for lives changed. Red for promises that would lie unfulfilled. Red for the death of Romulus Jordain. Red for the birth of Remus J. Lupin.  
  
The blood moon is not a symbol of the kill. It is a symbol of the killed, and all they must lose. It is the moon's way of mourning those who she must torment.  
  
  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Hello and thank you for reading my story. Another big thank you goes to Moey for beta reading. FYI an "Irish twin" is when two children are born within a year of each other. For example one might be born in January and the next in September, October, November or December of that same year. 


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